The greatest river on Earth by volume — it carries more water than the next seven largest rivers combined.
Length
6,400 km
Source
Andes of Peru (Mantaro/Apurímac headwaters)
Mouth
Atlantic Ocean (northern Brazil)
Continent
South America
Countries
Peru, Colombia & Brazil
Did you know?
The Amazon discharges so much fresh water that the sea is noticeably less salty more than 150 km offshore.
Little-known fact
There are no bridges across the main stem of the Amazon along its entire length — the banks are too wide, soft and remote.
Highlights
- Largest river on Earth by discharge
- Holds about a fifth of all river water on the planet
- No bridge crosses its main stem
Life in the Amazon
The fish and animals, waterbirds and water plants — including some of the rarest — that this water supports.
Animals & fish
Amazon river dolphin
The pink “boto” — a freshwater dolphin whose unfused neck lets it turn its head to hunt in flooded forest.
Arapaima
One of the biggest freshwater fish on Earth, it must gulp air at the surface to breathe.
Red-bellied piranha
A razor-toothed shoaling fish of South America — far more scavenger than the man-eater of legend.
Black caiman
The Amazon’s top predator — the largest member of the alligator family, hunting by night on the water.
Capybara
The world’s largest rodent, a placid grazer that lives in family groups along South American waters.
West Indian manatee
A gentle, slow-moving “sea cow” that drifts through warm rivers and lagoons grazing on water plants.
Water plants & reeds
Mangrove
Salt-tolerant trees whose stilted roots build the nurseries of the great river deltas.
Giant water lily
Its ribbed pads can span 3 m and bear the weight of a small child, floating on Amazon backwaters.
Interactive · 3D journey
Journey of a river · source → sea
Every river runs the same great journey — from an icy mountain spring, down through gorges and looping meanders, to a wide delta where it meets the sea. Tap a stage to follow the water downstream.
Tip: hover to tilt the valley · tap a stage to float downstream
The Source
Every river begins high up — in a mountain spring, a melting glacier or a boggy upland. The water is cold, clear and fast, tumbling down the steepest ground of its whole journey.
Landforms here